If That Isn't Love
by weirdgirl42
Summary: After the season 2 finale. Sophie gets some much need answers. Sophie/Nate implied.


_I do not own Leverage._

_AN: I've had this idea floating around my head for a while now and the finale gave me a chance to use it. Spoilers for the Maltese Falcon Job. Enjoy!_

**If That Isn't Love**

Her safe house on the Irish coast has always been her favorite. Maybe because of the way the ocean's low temperature always makes it smell slightly cleaner, more crisp than most seashores. Maybe because of the fact that it's the smallest of all her homes, barely more than a cottage. Maybe it's because, for reasons she can't completely understand, it reminds her of him.

Sophie has been in love with Nate Ford for so long it's no longer something she even thinks about. She was knee deep before she had even realized she'd begun. In some ways, it was easier at the beginning when he was still a happily married father. Then it got harder because he was right in front of her, every day, and she still couldn't break through. And now, now he had begged her to come home, only to ask her to abandon him again.

The pain she felt as she remembered climbing into the helicopter was cut with the ache of finally feeling his lips against hers. Their kiss had been sweet, and intense, and heartbreaking all at the same time. Afterwards she had been unable to look back at him as the team flew away to safety. They had landed at a small airstrip and the four had once again scattered to the wind, unsure of what else they could do.

Sophie had flown to Ireland immediately. Unlocking the door to her cottage she had sat down on the leather couch that took up most of the living room and cried for what seemed like hours.

Two months later and Sophie still hadn't fully processed everything that had happened. And for the first time in as long as she could remember, she knew that not even stealing something could make her feel better. If she had learned anything in her months away, it was that she could no longer function properly without Nate Ford beside her.

She had thought that Tara's reports of how poorly Nate was handling things meant that he felt the same way, but obviously she had been wrong. He said he needed her, but he had let her walk away. He couldn't see that her place was with him, regardless of where that led them.

"He can't love me," she whispered aloud.

"He does love you."

Sophie's head whipped around so fast she thought she might have given herself whiplash. Staring through the open arch that led from the living room to the kitchen her mouth gaped at the sight of a familiar figure sitting on her kitchen counter.

"Parker? How did you?"

"Your security system sucks."

Sophie's head whipped around the other direction just in time to see Hardison walk through the front door, followed closely by Eliot.

"What are you all doing here?"

Eliot crossed his arms over his chest, his face sporting his usual intense look. "What do you mean what are we doing here? You think we were all really just going to leave? Nate clears our records so we just take off in different directions?"

Sophie shook her head, not understanding what Eliot could be getting at.

Parker let out an exasperated sigh and came to sit on the couch. "We're getting Nate back."

Hardison came around to stand in front of them all and Sophie almost laughed at how similar this scene felt. It was a little like coming home.

"Now," Hardison said, "Nate is scheduled to give his testimony in three days. After that he will be whisked off by the federal marshals and relocated."

"He's going into witness protection?" Sophie asked.

"We think so," Eliot replied.

"Our best chance of getting to him will be after he's relocated," Hardison continued.

"No way to get near him after the trial," Eliot added, "place'll be crawling with feds."

"Luckily," Hardison finished, "they still haven't found the GPS locator we implanted in Nate's shoulder so as soon as they have him settled we can go in and get him out."

Sophie felt her chest tighten and she stood from the couch. "You guys, Nate told us to get on that helicopter. He told us to leave. We already dragged him back into this life once and look how that turned out? I don't think we have the right to do it again."

"What so you're saying we just do nothing?" Hardison looked at her incredulously. "Nate saved us. He took the fall. We can't just leave him, let him go be a bank teller in Podunk, Wisconsin under an assumed name for the rest of his life."

"It's what he wanted."

"That's bullshit and you know it." Eliot walked over to where Sophie was standing by the window. "Look," he said softly, "I know you two have a complicated relationship. And I know you're not sure where you stand. But Nate said it himself, we're a family."

Parker now stood on Sophie's other side. "I've never had a family that didn't totally suck. So I'm not actually sure if this is what families are supposed to do for each other but it seems like it is. It's what Nate would do for us."

Sophie shook her head. "I don't know if I can handle getting him back and things going back to the way they were. It isn't the same for me as it is for all of you."

"We know," Eliot said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "But Nate needs you. And he loves you."

"No he doesn't."

"Of course he does," Eliot reiterated. His eyes searched the ceiling as he tried to think of how he could prove it to her.

Parker beat him to the punch. "He likes to watch you act."

Sophie gave her a strange look but small smiles broke out on both Eliot and Hardison's faces. "That's right," said Eliot. "He does."

"And we're not talking about during a con," Hardison added. "He likes watching you on stage."

"First time I met you," Eliot said, "we came and saw you perform and the three of us thought Nate was insane because…well let's face it darlin, you can't act."

Sophie opened her mouth to protest but Parker cut her off. "You're bad Soph. Very, very bad."

"Just awful," Hardison added.

"But," Eliot interjected, giving the other two a stern look, "we were all standing there watching you onstage and Nate just had this look on his face. This smile. It was like he couldn't imagine anywhere else he wanted to be."

"He didn't stop smiling the entire time during Sound of Music either," Hardison said. "It was weird. Like he was in a trance or something."

"That's love," Parker concluded. "I mean it has to be. Because there's no other explanation for appreciating your stage skills. None. Whatsoever."

Sophie put a hand over her face and tried to process the information she was getting. She felt her shoulders tremble slightly and several tears run down her face. Taking a deep breath she finally looked up at all of them.

"Okay," she said, her eyes still wet. "Let's put our family back together."

**The End**

_Thanks for reading. Please review._


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